A Stormy Day
by BlueHeeler
Summary: Set post season 4...assumes Kate was promoted and is Captain of Hammersley, Mike is working back at Navcom, and Mike/Kate are in a relationship. This fic takes a look at a storyline involving an operation involving Hammersely, Kate's past and how her and Mike deal with the emotional fallout. Re-post from with some alterations.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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It was early in the morning as Kate approached Navcom. The Hammersley crew had been on shore leave for the past week, and Kate was there to see Commander White and pick up their orders for their next patrol. As she approached the entrance, she had a good look up at the sky – not a cloud in sight, the sun shining and a brilliant blue sky. She was pulled from her thoughts by a familiar voice from behind.

"Since when are Lieutenant Commander's allowed to daydream?" Mike asked smiling, happy to see Kate.

"Since they are early for their meetings." Kate replied with a smile of her own. "I was hoping I might see you again before I leave." she said as she ran a hand down his arm, coming to rest holding his hand as they stood opposite each other, remembering the good-bye they had at home earlier in the morning. Her smile disappeared and was replaced by a more confused look. "What are you doing out here, I thought you had an early start?"

"I had to duck home to pick up a couple of things." Mike said stroking Kate's hand. "I was hoping I might have seen you again there." By the eye contact he was holding with Kate, he was hoping to do more than see her.

Kate suddenly became very aware that they were in a public place, and standing very close. She let go of his hand and took a small step backwards to try and put some space between them, and regain her composure. "Looks like the weather report last night was wrong, they were predicting storms but it's a clear sky." Kate was kicking herself; she couldn't quite believe that she had resorted to talking about the weather to get her mind on track.

"The storm is out there..." Mike said noticing Kate backing off, "Satellite pictures from this morning have it staying off shore though."

"We'd better head in." Kate said motioning in the direction of Navcom. Mike nodded with a hint of a smile and as they started walking into Navcom he placed his hand on her back using his thumb to softly stroke her. As they reached the door, she stopped and turned to glare at him.

Mike knew she hated this. Despite the fraternization rules not applying anymore, they always felt like they were breaking some sort of rule when they were in uniform at Navcom. He took his hand off her back and smiled at her, "I need to go this way. I might see you in Maxine's office before you leave." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking off in the opposite direction.

As Kate approached Commander White's office, she noticed two people in there – one male, one female in their mid-30's, dressed quite casually for the settings of Navcom. Maxine noticed Kate and waved her inside.

"Kate, meet Detectives Brown and Smith from the AFP. Detectives, this is Lieutenant Commander McGregor, the CO of Hammersley." Kate shook hands with each of the detectives, who introduced themselves as Andrew and Natalie.

"Sorry to blindside you with this Kate, but the AFP gained some information overnight that will allow them to smash a major drug importation operation, but they need the Navy's assistance." Maxine looked back in the direction of the door as Mike walked though. "Great you're back. Kate, time is of the essence, so we will need to get going now and brief you on Hammersley." Maxine got up from her chair and started walking toward the door, followed by the two AFP agents.

"Sorry Ma'am, what do you mean on Hammersley?" Kate asked completely confused.

"Ah...I thought Mike would have told you." Maxine said as they both looked at Mike.

"I apologise Ma'am, I thought you would be doing the briefing." Mike said looking directly at his superior, refusing to look at Kate.

"Right," Maxine said, not missing a beat, "Commander Flynn and I will be sailing with you. However," she raised a hand as she continued effectively cutting Kate off from speaking, "You are still the CO. If everything goes to plan we will be coming back today with some major drug smugglers on board. Mike and I will just be there to take the credit."

"You wouldn't be planning to take the credit for the AFP's work would you?" Detective Brown asked.

"The thought never crossed my mind detective." Maxine said smiling before turning her attention back to Kate. "Briefly, the detectives and your XO will be heading out on a civilian vessel undercover and take possession of a large shipment of drugs."

"My XO?" Kate questioned trying to catch on to what was happening.

"Yes, the intel was only gathered at the last minute and the AFP don't have anyone available who can navigate a boat so they need to borrow one of us. Hammersley will be shadowing them, and once they take possession of the drugs, we...you, will take down the traffickers. The AFP and your XO will head back to shore where the detectives will follow the rest of the drug chain into Australia." Maxine then looked at Mike as she picked up her bag from behind the desk. "Are you right to go?"

"Bag's downstairs." Mike said, still refusing to look at Kate.

"Ah, um," Kate started to stutter. She had been completely taken by surprise and wasn't sure which to be worried about more – what Commander White was going to think about her as a CO when she saw her in action, or what she was going to think about the rest of the crew...including 2Dads.

"Kate we need to head out straight away, so you won't have any time to brief your crew. Your XO will be briefed by the AFP and we will do a complete briefing with you and your senior sailors while we sail." Maxine said as she started to move toward the door, walking out with both the detectives, leaving Kate and Mike trailing behind them.

"You could have warned me." Kate said looking at Mike who had managed to look at her for the first time. While she wasn't all that happy about the current situation, she wasn't totally disappointed that she would be able to spend another day with Mike on Hammersley.

"What can I say, you distracted me." Mike said smiling. "Come on, it won't be that bad. One quick trip, in and out. It will be just like old times."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." Kate said trying to hide her smile, but not doing a very good job. "I'm going to go ahead and say that you should just do the opposite of whatever it is you are thinking."

"Ok, but I should warn you I was thinking that I should act professional, give you the space you need to do your job, and only get involved if Maxine orders me to. If you want me to do the opposite, then I guess that can be arranged." Mike said completely seriously.

"Just...don't make this harder it needs to be." Kate said pleading with Mike. "The crew are going to have a field day."

"Don't worry. I'll behave, it will be fine." Mike said smiling as they caught up with Maxine and made their way to where Hammersley was docked.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

_Authors Notes: Thank you to those who are following and have left feedback, all comments are welcome. This chapter picks up where the last chapter left off...Mike, Maxine, Kate and the AFP detectives had left Navcom and were on their way to Hammersley._

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Chapter 2

As Kate, Mike and Maxine arrived at Hammersley, Dutchy was overseeing the supplies being loaded onto the ship. Kate was grateful that they all seemed to be working hard as they had a tendency to slack off, particularly when it was the first day back from leave and they had a lot to catch up on. Dutchy looked up from his clipboard to greet Kate, and noticed the other two officers.

"Morning Ma'am," He said smiling looking at Kate. "Ma'am, Sir." He said saluting and looking slightly confused at Commander White and Commander Flynn. It wasn't all that uncommon for Mike to come down to see Hammersley off, but it was unusual for him to be carrying a bag, and he couldn't remember the last time Commander White came down to the docks.

"Petty Officer Mulholland, " Maxine greeted Dutchy and returned his salute "We won't hold you up, we need to get underway as soon as possible."

"XO!" Kate called out as she saw Lieutenant Ashdown make his way onto the deck, waving at him to join the three officers. He joined Hammersley as the XO when Kate was promoted and had fitted in quite well with the crew. Although he is reserved and softly spoken, the crew quickly figured out how he got his nickname of Smash; a shortened version of Smashdown Ashdown, given to him for his quick and effective way of dealing with violent people.

"Sorry to do this to you Smash," Kate began explaining "but I need to you change out of your uniform and go with Detectives Brown and Smith here. They'll give you a full briefing on the way, but you are needed to navigate a civilian vessel for them to help take out a drug operation. All being well, we should meet up with you later today back in port."

"Yes Ma'am." Smash responded and took his turn to leave and follow his orders.

"Kate, I'll need to borrow your quarters to change." Maxine half asked, half stated as she started to move towards Hammersley.

"Not a problem Ma'am, Mike you can use..." Kate said before Mike cut her off.

"I'll find somewhere. Dutchy, good to see you again." Mike said as he held out his hand to shake Dutchy's. With that, both Mike and Maxine walked onto Hammersley to change out of their whites, while Kate stayed back to talk to Dutchy.

"Boss?" Dutchy said looking at Kate, "They're getting changed?"

"They're sailing with us." Kate said looking up at Dutchy. "A joint operation with the AFP. All things going to plan, we will be back later this afternoon to drop them off before heading back out."

"Seriously? Must be a big operation if the Brass are coming out to oversee it." Dutchy said.

"Well, you'll find out soon enough, there will be a full briefing once we get underway. Speaking of which when we do get moving, can you keep an eye on 2Dads? Today would be a good day for everything to run like clockwork." Kate said. She had relaxed a lot in her time on Hammersley and didn't mind the crew goofing around when they were off watch, but today she needed everyone switched on one hundred percent.

"Sure thing." Dutchy said with a chuckle. "Morning not going as expected hey boss?"

"Let's just say it will be good to get moving. I better head in and get up to the bridge, are you right with this?" Kate asked pointing at the supplies.

"No problem, I'll give them all a move along." Dutchy said.

As Kate walked onboard, she could hear Dutchy telling the crew to hurry up, and dismissing their questions about why Commanders White and Flynn were onboard. As she walked up to her cabin door, and odd feeling came over her. She was the captain of the ship, and these were her quarters, but she was about to knock and ask for permission enter.

Inside the cabin, Maxine had changed into her DPNU's and did a quick scan of the cabin. It didn't surprise her to see everything organized and in order, but what did surprise her was the lack of personal items. The only thing she could see was a couple of photo's on the wall above her rack – one of her and Mike, and a couple with the some of the other crew.

Kate was the one officer Maxine hadn't figured out how to read. Since taking charge at Navcom she had come to recognise Kate as an incredibly good officer, who was both well liked and respected by her crew. She also knew how highly Mike thought of her, and trusted his opinion enough to promote her to become the CO of Hammersley.

But then there was the situation with Mike. He had assured her that he and Kate hadn't broken any rules, and Kate's behaviour had always been professional in her dealings with her at Navcom. Still, she found something about the situation unsettling. Perhaps it was because she really knew nothing about Kate. She had read her file but knew nothing of her life outside the Navy, and looking around her cabin now she wasn't any closer to knowing any more about her.

A knock at the door then disrupted her from her thoughts.

"Ma'am." Kate said as Maxine opened the door. "I trust you found everything you needed?"

"Yes, thank you." Maxine said before picking up her briefcase and handing Kate a piece of paper. "Commander Flynn and I will be in the Senior Sailors Mess. As soon as Hammersley is ready, we need to head out on this bearing to follow the AFP. They will be ahead of us, so once you have them on radar come down with your Swain and Bosun so we can have a proper briefing."

"Yes Ma'am." Kate replied as Maxine left for the seniors mess, and she entered her cabin to change out of her whites.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the Hammersley had left port and was following the trail of the boat containing the AFP Detectives and Lieutenant Ashdown. Kate had informed the crew that it was a drugs operation and they were to follow them, staying below the horizon. Satisfied that they were headed on the right path, Kate called for Swain and Dutchy to join her in the Seniors' Mess for the briefing.

"Ma'am, Sir." Kate said entering the room. "We have the AFP vessel on radar and are following its path. Petty Officer Mulholland you already know, this is Petty Officer Blake." Kate motioned to Swain to make the introduction to Commander White.

"Petty Officer Blake." Maxine said nodding in his direction, "Everyone take a seat, this won't take too long." As Kate, Dutchy and Swain took their seats Maxine started to explain what was going on.

Tightened security at Airports meant drug importers were increasingly turning to the ocean to smuggle illegal substances into the country. To try and avoid detection, they were using several boats, handing the drugs over at various points – some on islands were the two parties would never meet, some would be tied to buoys for collection by another boat, and some, like the one the AFP were about to do, would be a direct contact exchange.

The AFP would take the drugs from the smugglers and from that point Hammersley was tasked to stop and take control of the other boat and take custody of all those onboard.

"Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking," Dutchy began before Maxine cut him off.

"Why are two Commander's out here overseeing what should be a straight forward take down?" Maxine said pre-empting Dutchy's question. "There are several boats involved in this operation. Kingston already has its vessel, coastwatch has another. If everything goes to plan, this could be one of the biggest drug busts in Australia's history. Commander Flynn and I are here at the request of the Chief of Navy to ensure that the Navy's presence is as visible as possible. We are expecting media when we return to port."

Before any more questions could be asked, RO knocked on the door.

"Ma'am," He said in Kate's direction. "Ma'am, Sir." He said to the other two officers who nodded in acknowledgement.

"What is it RO?" Kate asked.

"You wanted to be informed when we approached the storm," Kate nodded. "We're just coming up on it now."

"Thank you RO." Kate said. "Ma'am," She said turning to Maxine.

"You three better head up there – it's supposed to be a big one." Maxine said effectively dismissing the three officers.

To Be Continued


	3. Chapter 3

_Authors Notes: Thanks to those who are leaving and have left feedback. Apologies for not getting this up sooner, but it was a crazy week. I will try and get the next chapter up before the end of the weekend, but that might depend on how much feedback is left :)_

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Chapter 3

All hands were on deck on the Bridge as Hammersley navigated its way through the storm while following the AFP agents. Swain was at the helm, Dutchy at the radar and Kate in the CO's chair, with RO and Charge each at their stations.

2Dads came up onto the bridge, stumbling up the stairs as the boat was hit by another wave. "Who's idea was it to go through this storm anyway?" He muttered under his breath, although it came out a little louder than expected.

"The storm's too big to go around and we are on a tight schedule. Besides, it could be worse, we could be on the AFP boat. I'd say they are copping it pretty bad." Dutchy said in response.

Before anyone had a chance to say anything else, the radio crackled to life.

"HMAS Hammersley, this is Much-a-Doe, come in, over." It was Detective Andrew Brown from the AFP boat.

"Much-a-Doe this is Hammersley, what seems to be the problem, over." Kate was quick to her feet when she heard the detective's voice and eager to respond.

"Hammersley, we require assistance. Lieutenant Ashdown and Detective Smith have been injured; Lieutenant Ashdown is in and out of consciousness, over." Detective Brown said.

"Ok, stay where you are, we will be with you shortly. Over and Out." Kate said hanging up the radio.

Within no time at all Hammersley had pulled alongside the AFP. Dutchy and Swain had done a good job in getting across to them in the Rhib and bringing all three people back to Hammersley in the storm.

"What happened?" Maxine asked Detective Brown while Swain attended to Smash and Detective Smith.

"A wave hit us," Detective Brown started to explain, "Natalie lost her footing and fell into your bloke, who then lost his footing and fell on top of her. Nat screamed out in pain, and Smash must have hit his head because he didn't know where he was."

Swain examined Natalie and advised Maxine and Mike that he believed she had broken her arm and was quite shaken up. He also confirmed that Smash had hit his head and although he was regaining his senses, recommended he be taken off active duty.

Maxine, Mike, Kate and Detective Brown all gathered in the Senior's Mess to reassess their situation.

"Ok," Maxine started, "Time to look at our options. As it stands, Detective Smith and Lieutenant Ashdown are out of action, and if you don't mind me saying Andrew, you're looking a little green. Are you up to continuing?"

"Not really Commander," Detective Brown answered, "but I don't want to give up either. I think the best option at this point would be to replace us with two of your crew. It's a simple hand over and I can brief them on what to do."

"Right then," Maxine said taking charge of the operation, "Kate, you will be taking one of the positions on the Much-a-Doe. It's not a course of action I would normally recommend, but this is no normal situation and I can take charge of the ship while you are gone." Maxine said as Mike looked to his former XO and current lover with a worried look.

"Who do you want to take with you?" Maxine asked.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw Dutchy walking past the wardroom. "Dutchy." She said calling out to him as he stopped and came back to stand in the doorway. "It makes the most sense Ma'am." Kate said to Maxine.

"Very Well." Maxine said giving her approval. "But we are going to need you back to take out the traffickers, so here's the plan. You two will head out and do the handover of the drugs. Instead of heading back to port, you will need to sail in our direction. The two of you will come back on Hammersley and two of your junior sailors will take the Much-a-Doe back to port. All clear?"

Everyone responded with "Yes, Ma'am,"

Dutchy and Kate were briefed by the AFP Detective before leaving the Mess to get changed.

Mike watched Kate as she walked out. Truth be told, he was a little disappointed at how quickly she had suggested Dutchy. With Maxine on board there was no real reason why he couldn't have gone with her, but for some reason, Kate instantly chose Dutchy. Deep down he knew it would have been because she was used to working with him on boarding's from when she was XO, but he was still a little hurt.

"You can stop thinking about it." Maxine said as she walked past Mike to leave. "There is no way I would have let you go with her."

Still, Mike wanted to talk to Kate before she left. As he walked down the corridor he noticed the door to Kate's cabin was slightly ajar. He knocked and walked into the cabin, closing the door behind him. Kate had fully changed and was neatly folding her uniform. Mike went to say something, but no words seemed to come out. He looked around the cabin and noticed not much had changed.

"You know, I think this is the first time I have been back in here since I left." Mike commented as his eyes came to rest on Kate.

"Just don't get any ideas about coming back here, or it could be one of the last ideas you have." Kate said picking up her bag and looking at Mike with a slight smile.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He told her, his smile getting even wider. "You haven't made many changes." Mike said as he broke his gaze with Kate.

"It's a cabin on a Navy ship. What were you expecting, renovations?" Kate was quite quick with her reply. She had almost forgotten what it was like to share banter like this onboard.

"Fair point," Mike said before pausing and taking a deep breath. He knew Kate wasn't going to like what was coming, but he still wanted to say it. "You don't have to do this you know. These drug runners won't think twice if they think something is wrong." He was completely serious, looking directly at Kate and using his eyes to plead with her to stay.

Before Kate could say anything, there was a knock at the door. Mike looked at Kate and realising that she wasn't going to back out of going he reached out and opened the door to find Dutchy.

"Sir," He said looking to Mike, "Ma'am, you right to go?" He asked. He could sense something was going on, but there was no way he was going to ask any more.

"I'll meet you at the Rhib." Kate replied. Dutchy took the hint and left the two officers alone.

"I don't know how many more times I need to say this. It's my job. I can take care of myself, and if for some reason I can't, Dutchy will be there. Now, I need to get going." As Kate went to walk past Mike he reached down and grabbed her hand.

"Just be careful," he said looking down into her eyes, "I kind of like having you around."

Kate reached up and gave Mike a kiss on the cheek, catching him by surprise. They were in somewhat of a grey area here. They were on the same boat, but not in the same chain of command, and their CO knew of their relationship. "I'll be back before you know it," she said as she went to leave the cabin.

"Promise?" Mike asked.

"Promise." Kate said in reply before walking out to meet Dutchy in the Rhib.

Mike followed Kate up on deck and watched as she was transferred with Dutchy across to the Much-a-Doe. Looking around at the storm and back to the boat, he knew they had a challenge in front of them. He had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation. The storm, under cover in a drugs operation, Dutchy going and not him, something just felt wrong.

Little did Mike know how right he was to be worried.

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4

_Authors Notes: Thanks to everyone for reading and leaving feedback, it's much appreciated. As promised, with feedback comes another chapter..._

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Chapter 4

_Aboard the Much-a-Doe_

Despite the weather, Kate and Dutchy had been making good time however it wasn't all smooth sailing. They were being knocked around by the storm, and had both lost their feet a couple of times. Another big wave hit the ship sending Kate falling straight into Dutchy, and Dutchy straight against the wall. As they were trying to re-gain their feet, a call came through on the portable radio.

"Charlie-82, this is Papa-82, come in, over." Mike's voice came through on the radio

"They've got to be kidding." Kate muttered as she and Dutchy were still trying to right themselves. Making her way over to the radio, she picked it up and answered Mike. "Papa-82, this is Charlie-82, over."

"We have you on the EOD, you seem to be copping the brunt of the storm, is everything ok over there?" Mike asked trying not to sound too concerned.

"Just..." As Kate began her response they were hit by another wave causing her to stumble. Dutchy was able to use his free hand to stop her from falling. "Just trying to keep our feet, Sir." Kate said into the radio before thanking Dutchy who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Ok then. From the looks of it, you are through the worst of the storm, and should be in calmer waters soon. We'll let you get back to it. Over and out."

What felt like a lifetime later, Kate and Dutchy made it through the storm, sailing into calmer waters and edging ever closer to their meeting point.

"Boss, mind if I ask you a question?" Dutchy asked as he looked toward Kate who shook her head indicating that she didn't mind. "It's personal." Dutchy added.

"Well you can ask, I just may not answer." Kate said with a smile. There were very few sailors that Kate was able to have an informal or personal conversation with while on duty, or off duty for that matter, but Dutchy was definitely one of them.

"Why did you choose me to come out here and not..." He paused, "Commander Flynn?" If they had been off duty he would have called him Mike without thinking about it. He and some of the others on Hammersley had taken to referring to him as Errol whenever Kate wasn't around. Here, they were on duty, but it was a personal question, so he hedged his bets and went for Commander Flynn.

Kate had to think about it for a second. In reality, she knew Commander White probably wouldn't have let him go with her, but why had she instantly chosen Dutchy? The thought of going with Mike didn't really even register with her until now. Dutchy was looking at her and she had to come up with some sort of answer.

"You remember the problems you and I had when you first came on Hammersley? When you used to be more than a little over-protective?" Kate said as she looked at Dutchy who nodded in acknowledgment. "Well, he and I have similar issues when it comes to work."

Dutchy was about to say something about him being right to be concerned every now and again, and that she punched well above her weight when it came to dealing with bad and often violent people. But before he could say anything, Kate spoke again.

"Dutchy, stationary target over there, looks like they are right on the meeting point." Kate said looking at the radar. "You think its them?" She asked as Dutchy turned to look.

"Hell of a coincidence if it isn't." Dutchy said.

"Are you right to do this?" Kate said as she looked at Dutchy.

"Yes Ma'am." Dutchy said as they went about getting ready. There wasn't much that needed to be done. The voice and video recorders had been set up after they got through the storm so just needed to be turned on. The bag of money they were exchanging for the drugs was ready to go, and they knew exactly what they had to say.

As they pulled alongside the target vessel Kate disappeared below decks. As per the agreement, there would only be one male deck on each vessel when they pulled alongside each other. As they pulled up, Kate could hear Dutchy exchanging the password.

"I hear it's raining on the plains," Was Dutchy's line.

"Only in Spain." Came the reply from the other man. Kate's adrenaline was pumping. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Mike was right. If these guys didn't believe them, they wouldn't hesitate to kill them, and right now Dutchy was totally at their mercy. "You're late." The same man then added. Kate wished she could rewind the tape and hear that voice again. She knew it from somewhere but couldn't place it – all of a sudden a sense of dread came over her about this whole operation.

"Sorry, storm held us up." Dutchy said attempting to convince him that's why they were late. "We doing this or what?" Dutchy asked hoping he hadn't just pushed too hard. The other man looked at him for a second before nodding and motioning for his own partner to come out on deck. As he did, Dutchy stepped back into Kate's eye line and gave her the all clear to come out with the money.

As soon as she did, she saw the other man and immediately recognised him. Before she had a chance to do anything he saw her and unfortunately, he recognised her as well.

"What the hell!" He called out as he pulled a gun out aimed at Kate. Dutchy moved to get his gun, hidden on deck. "Don't even think about it tough guy, I won't think twice about killing either of you. If you think I'm joking ask her!" He said using his gun to motion at Kate.

"Do whatever he says Dutchy." Kate said not taking her eyes off the man with the gun.

"Trev, scan the horizon for another boat." He said to the other man on the boat. "Last time I saw this one she was running off to join the Navy."

It didn't take Trev long to spot Hammersley's mast on the horizon. "Over there." He said pointing in its direction.

"You little...you're not stuffing this up for me! Bring the money and get over here now! Both of you!" He shouted at both Kate and Dutchy. By this point the other man had his gun out, aimed squarely at Dutchy.

Both Kate and Dutchy did what they were told and headed over to the other boat. Dutchy was looking to Kate. She obviously knew this man, but he had no idea how, and had no idea why she wasn't fighting back. As they climbed on board the second man, Trev, pulled Dutchy to one side while Kate climbed on board with the money to be met by the first man.

"You've had this coming for a long time," He said as he used his gun to hit Kate in the side of the head.

"Kate!" Dutchy called as he tried to move over to her before he felt the gun at his side dig into his ribs a little further stopping him from moving. Kate initially went down with the hit, but in no time and without so much as a whimper, stood up to face the man again.

"Oh good, I was hoping you were still like this." He said with a smile. He then turned to face his mate. "Tie him up down here, then you get up to the bridge to get us out of here. I'll take care of this one." Dutchy was then tied up on decks while Kate was taken inside before they started moving at top speed to get away from Hammersley.

_Aboard Hammersley_

Mike and Maxine were both on the bridge with Swain, Charge, RO, 2Dads and both AFP detectives. They had spotted the other vessel on their Radar, and 2Dads had them on the EOD.

As Kate and Dutchy approached the boat, everyone's nerves increased. They held their breaths as they watched Dutchy's opening exchanges, and saw that the deal seemed to be going ahead. Then, they saw the gun being pulled.

"This isn't part of the plan, something is wrong." Detective Brown said with a slightly panicked voice as the bridge sprung into action.

"2Dads are you recording this?" Mike called out as Maxine gave orders to Swain to get the boat moving at full speed.

"Yes Sir." 2Dads called out while Swain called back to Commander White and got Hammersley moving.

Mike was standing behind 2Dads watching on the EOD, his knuckles were white as he gripped the chair in front of him. There was nothing he could do but watch the scene unfold before him. His heart was in his mouth as he watched both Dutchy and Kate transfer to the other boat. Then, he saw her being hit. His heart leapt up into his mouth, and it was all he could do to stop from calling her name out. Then he saw her being taken inside and his mind and blood pressure went into overdrive.

Who was this man? What was he going to do to her? Would he ever be able to speak to her again?

To Be Continued


	5. Chapter 5

_Authors Notes: Again, thank you to everyone for reading and leaving feedback...Keep it coming and the chapters keep coming! Here is the next installment..._

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Chapter 5

Those on board Hammersley couldn't believe what they were seeing. What was supposed to be a straight forward operation just ended up with two armed men taking two of their crew, including their captain, hostage. All they could do was watch on, as Maxine took charge on the bridge.

"Mike you need to make preparations to get a RHIB in the water and take two sailors to the Much-a-Doe." Mike looked to Maxine with contempt in his eyes. He couldn't believe that she wanted to stop and secure a boat when both Kate and Dutchy were in danger. Maxine looked to Mike and didn't like what she saw. They'd had arguments before, and there had been times when he had disagreed with her decisions, but he had never looked at her with this kind of anger and disapproval.

"Mike, a word." Maxine said motioning for him to go down from the bridge so they could speak privately. "Petty Officer Blake, take the ship and stay on our current course." Maxine ordered as she left the bridge.

"Mike, you and Kate may not have broken any of the rules physically, but I know you well enough to know that emotionally you were both much more than CO and XO while serving together." Maxine said as Mike interrupted her.

"This is hardly the time or place..." Mike started before Maxine cut him off taking him by surprise. It had been a long time since she had pulled rank on him like this.

"I'm not done! Despite the emotional relationship, the two of you still managed to work together, hide what was really going on, and not completely lose it when the other was in danger. Now, you have to do it again. The crew know you, and you know them. They need you to be Acting CO here, not a worried boyfriend." Maxine said sternly but quietly enough that only Mike could hear. In case her point didn't get through she then added, "Kate needs Commander Flynn right now, not Mike."

As Maxine looked at Mike again, the anger and contempt was gone, but she could see that this was still tearing him up. "Now, take a second and pull yourself together. When you come up to the bridge prepare a steaming party for the AFP boat." As Maxine left for the Bridge, Mike took a deep breath, straightened his shirt and followed her to the Bridge.

"Commander Flynn," Detective Brown said as Mike re-entered the Bridge. "Let us go back on the Much-a-Doe. Natalie is feeling much better, and this way we only need one of your crew to come with us."

Mike contemplated this for a couple of seconds. "Very well." Mike said agreeing to the detectives plan. "Able Seaman Keating, sorry you're on the steaming party with the AFP, they still need someone who can navigate."

Aboard the drug smugglers boat Dutchy was going out of his mind. He knew they were moving fast and that Hammersley would be following, but he didn't think Kate had that much time. They was a lot of shouting coming from below, all from the man that had taken Kate, and he could also hear noises that sounded like someone being hit and continually falling to the ground. He was straining and pulling against the rope – he knew he had to get free.

Just when he was about to give up on his rope, he felt part of it give way and he was able to free his hands. He moved quickly to see if Kate was ok being careful not to alert the two men that he was no longer restrained. When he saw her he couldn't understand what he was seeing. Kate was pulling herself up from the ground and standing, almost to attention, facing the man before he hit her again, sending her back to the ground.

Dutchy knew he had to do something, and fast.

He grabbed the rope that he had been tied up with and headed to the bridge. In one swift movement he reached his captor and knocked him off balance with a punch to the face. Off balance and slightly dazed, he tried to pull his gun out but Dutchy was too quick, punching him again and taking the gun off him. Dutchy moved as quickly as he could to tie him up, tightly. He then stopped the boat before grabbing the gun and a portable radio and heading back down to Kate.

He was about to try and get a message out to Hammersley when a voice came over the radio.

"Trev! What are you doing! Why are we stopping!" Came the voice of the man that was with Kate. At that point Dutchy realised that he still had the element of surprise on his side. He made it downstairs and again couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Kate was unconscious on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her head. As if that wasn't enough, he was kicking her in the ribs.

Bursting through the door, Dutchy had his gun aimed straight at the man. "You move, you die. Trust me, I'm having a bad day and won't think twice about it." Dutchy threatened as he moved to put himself between the man and Kate. He grabbed another rope to restrain the man, and as he did the man made a move to try and disarm Dutchy. As he did so, Dutchy reacted by pistol whipping him, straight across the face.

"Be grateful that's all you're getting." Dutchy said as he tied the man up before dragging him outside, tying him to the same pole he had been tied to not that long ago before rushing back in to Kate.

"Papa-82, this is Delta-82 come in, over," he called into the radio before turning his attention to Kate. "Kate, can you hear me, wake up," he said lightly tapping her on the face.

Back on Hammersley Mike nearly pushed Bird over in getting to the radio first. "Dutchy, what's going on over there?"

"Sir we are North, North-west of our meeting point." Dutchy said realising that he had no idea how far they had actually travelled.

"We have you on radar and are making best speed to get there. Is the situation secure? Where is Lieutenant Commander McGregor?" Mike asked.

"Secure for now Sir, but the sooner you get here the better. The Boss has been injured, I need to speak to Swain." Dutchy said, starting to panic as Kate showed no signs of waking up.

Mike was quick to hand the radio over to Swain. As much as he wanted to know more, he knew if Kate needed medical help the quicker Dutchy was talking to Swain better.

"Talk to me Dutchy." Swain said, pulling out his note pad in case he needed to make notes.

"Swain the boss has been badly beaten. She's unconscious and there's...there's a lot of blood." Dutchy responded, his concern growing.

"Right, first thing, how's her breathing?" Swain asked as Mike's blood went cold. Kate, his Kate, was unconscious, bleeding, and on a boat in the middle of the ocean. It was bad enough that he couldn't be there with her but there was no medic either. The only help was via radio.

"Ah, its, she's breathing short, shallow breaths." Dutchy answered.

"Ok. Now find her pulse and count it out for me." Swain ordered him.

"Ok, right, here we go...its weak, 1...2...3...4..."Dutchy counted off as Swain interrupted him.

"Good. Dutchy, that sounds ok. Now, where is she bleeding from? If you can't see a wound, move her as carefully as you can to see underneath her." Swain instructed. Mike was going out of his mind at this point. His earlier warning from Maxine was the only thing keeping him from jumping off the boat and swimming to her – the rate of his blood pressure was telling his mind that he would make it there faster that way, but really it was just the feeling of complete helplessness that was driving him mad.

Dutchy could see a few cuts, and certainly the start of a few bruises, but nothing that would explain the blood. He gently moved her head to one side and could see the problem – a massive gash on the side of her head. As he looked he could see some blood on the corner of a table, realising what had happened. "Bloody hell." He muttered before picking up the radio. "Swaino there's a...a massive gash on the side of her head. It looks bad."

"Ok Dutchy, find a towel or something to put under it to stop the bleeding, but other than that try not to move her." Swain instructed.

"I don't think you understand how much blood is here Swain." Dutchy said as he grabbed a towel that looked relatively clean and used it to put under her head in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Head wounds always bleed a lot, makes them look worse than it is." Swain told him sounding quite confident that everything would be ok.

"Easy for you to say." Dutchy said. "What else can I do?"

"Nothing for now. If she comes too, just talk to her to keep her calm and stop her from moving. Otherwise, just keep an eye on her breathing and pulse. We're not too far away." Swain informed him, before handing the radio back to Mike.

"Dutchy, we're about ten minutes away." Mike informed Dutchy. "Keep us posted on any changes."

"Yes Sir, over and out." Dutchy responded to Mike putting the radio down and muttering an obscenity under his breath. Rightly or wrongly he always felt like he had let Mike down when Kate was hurt, and this was no different.

"Swain," Mike said turning to face the medic, "What is it you're not telling us?"

"She's breathing on her own, her pulse is down, but it would be a lot slower if there were large internal injuries." Swain looked to Mike and really didn't want to say the next part. Heck, he didn't want to even think about it himself. "Head injuries, they can be tricky. Until we get there, assess her, talk to fleet medical there is just no saying. It would be a good start if she regained consciousness." He was trying to sugar coat it, but in reality he was worried about a serious brain injury.

Mike had to take a deep breath. There were many things he could never work out about Kate. One was why she always got so angry when he tried to protect her. Is it really that wrong that all he wants to do is protect her so she's safe? Ok, so it was wrong when he was her CO, but why now? Why wouldn't she listen to him and at least think twice about posing as a drug smuggler?

To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

_Authors notes:_ _Again, thanks to everyone for following and leaving feedback. Here is the next chapter in the story...I hope you enjoy..._

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Chapter 6

As Hammersley approached the drug boat, both RHIBs were deployed with Mike, Charge, Swain, 2Dads, RO and Bird on board. Mike's concern was there for everyone to see. His jaw was clenched, and he had been gripping the radio so tightly that it was surprising it hadn't been crushed. He could feel himself losing it, but knew he had to hold it together. He was angry at whoever the man was who hit Kate, angry at Dutchy for not protecting her, angry at Kate for going in the first place, and angry at himself for not stopping her. But mostly, he was just hoping that she would be ok.

As the RHIBs approached the boat, Mike started issuing orders. "When we board, Swain, Bird, head to Dutchy and Kate to see what they need," as Mike looked to Swain, he realised he had just called her Kate, and in front of her crew. A slip of the tongue that didn't go unnoticed by Swain who gave him a re-assuring nod as if to say he understood what he was going through. "2Dads, RO, head to the bridge. Bring the drug smuggler down to the lower decks, Charge, secure the lower decks."

Charge, 2Dads and RO acknowledged their orders and the teams boarded the boat. As they did, they saw one man tied up on the boat deck. Seeing that he was secure, Mike left Charge behind and followed Swain and Bird in to see Kate and Dutchy while RO and 2Dads made their way to the bridge.

When Mike saw Kate, his stomach turned. It's not like he hadn't seen injuries before, truth is he'd seen worse ones. But he couldn't look at Kate like he would any other sailor. Right there, in that moment, he would have given anything for her to be ok. He took a deep breath and started listening to what Dutchy and Swain were saying.

"She started coming round a minute ago, mostly just mumbling things, nothing that made any sense though." Dutchy advised as Swain began his examination.

"Dutchy," Mike said motioning for Dutchy to come over to where he was standing. "What happened?"

"I don't know Sir. Everything was going according to plan then it all went to hell. The bloke on the bridge, Trev I think his name is, I don't think he knows what is going on. He's just following orders from that one," He said pointing at the man on deck who had been beating Kate. "He recognised the Boss. He said something about she's in the Navy, no," he said shaking his head trying to remember exactly what was said, "He said last time he saw her she was leaving to join the Navy."

"You're sure that's what he said. That she was leaving to join the Navy?" Mike asked to confirm Dutchy's story.

"Yes Sir." Dutchy confirmed as Swain joined them.

"Sir, her blood pressure is low, but ok. Her breathing isn't bad, but at this point I wouldn't rule out a small puncture to the lung. Did I hear you right, they were kicking her while she was on the ground?" Swain asked as he looked to Dutchy who just nodded, while the knot in Mike's stomach just got a bit tighter. "We need to get her back on Hammersley. She is regaining consciousness, but is still quite drowsy and we won't know about any memory loss until she wakes up completely."

At that point Kate began to groan. She furrowed her brow not able to completely hide the fact that she was in pain, as she tried to speak. "D...Dut...Dutchy." Kate swallowed before talking again, her eyes still closed. "Dutchy, where are you?" She kept her eyes closed as she moved one arm over her ribs and the other up toward her head.

Bird tried to talk to Kate as Mike, Swain and Dutchy all looked at each other before Swain spoke up. "She's still pretty confused. Probably thinks she is still on the other boat," Kate began to get more and more upset the longer it went without hearing Dutchy's voice. "It might be best if you talk to her, might keep her calm until she fully regains consciousness." Swain said and Dutchy nodded before walking over and bending down to Kate.

Mike could only watch as Dutchy made his way to Kate. He knelt down to her, rubbing her arm and speaking soft, comforting words as Kate visibly calmed down. Mike's heart almost broke as he watched another man do exactly what he should be doing. It wasn't just that he wanted to comfort Kate – he wanted her to want him to comfort her. He knew it was selfish, but Kate was always so strong, it was so rare that she needed support from anyone, and he just wanted to feel needed, useful even. Here she was, beaten, bruised, barely conscious, and needing someone else.

Just when he was about to run over to Kate and push Dutchy away, he heard Maxine's voice. _Kate needs Commander Flynn, not Mike._ Maybe so, but he couldn't watch any more of this.

"Right, you three take Lieutenant Commander McGregor back to Hammersley. We'll take care of these two and prepare the boat for towing." Mike said leaving Dutchy, Swain and Bird with Kate. As he walked out on deck he saw RO and 2Dads with the prisoners, but not Charge.

"Where's Charge?" Mike asked.

"Preparing the boat for towing Sir." 2Dads responded as Mike nodded in acknowledgment. "How's Dutchy and the Boss?" He asked.

"They'll be fine." Mike said trying to convince himself that was the case. "We're taking these two back to Hammersley. When we get there, I want them secured in Austere – and I mean secured," As he spoke Charge returned to the lower decks. "Everything ready Charge?"

"Yes Sir, ready for towing." Charge answered.

"Ok then, let's get back to Hammersley. You two, on your feet." Mike ordered the two prisoners to stand up.

As the two men stood, Trev caught a glimpse of Kate, still being attended to by Swain. "Jesus Gordo, what the hell did you do to her?" He said.

"Nothing she didn't deserve. Ungrateful bitch squealed on me about seventeen years ago. Reckons I used to hit her when she was a kid, can you believe that?" Gordo said with a smirk.

Mike couldn't help it. He grabbed the man by the collar pulling him up, standing face to face. "You would be well advised to keep your mouth shut until you are handed over to the police. Understood?" When Gordo didn't say anything, Mike shook him before yelling "Understood!"

Gordo reluctantly nodded, as Mike relaxed his grip and looked to Charge and the others.

"Didn't hear a thing Sir." Charge said as he looked to 2Dads.

"Busy getting this one into the RHIB." 2Dads said as they all stood on the lower decks, in a silent agreement that none of them would repeat what they had just heard.

The silence continued as they took the prisoners back to Hammersley. When they got there, RO and 2Dads were met by some of the other crew as they escorted the men to Austere to be secured, while Charge made final preparations for the vessel to be towed. In only took about five minutes for Swain, Dutchy and Bird to arrive with Kate, but to Mike it felt like a life time. As they arrived he could see that Kate had improved.

She was almost upright, being held up by Dutchy. Her eyes were mostly closed, and she was still protecting her ribs with her arm, and the bandage around her head was covering most of the damage done by the gash, but her blonde hair and fair skin could do nothing to hide the blood that covered it. All he wanted was to somehow make everything ok.

"I'm fine, I can walk." Kate mumbled as she was bought on decks, refusing to use the stretcher that had been bought out. Mike could do nothing but watch as she was carried by Swain and Dutchy. Why couldn't he be the one to comfort her, carry her. Or better yet, why couldn't he trade places with her so it was him that was beaten, and she'd be fine.

Dutchy and Swain looked at each other before continuing to carry her, each with one arm over their shoulders, down to the ward room. As they approached the door to leave the deck, Maxine walked out, wincing as she looked at Kate.

"I'll be down to the wardroom in a minute for an update." Maxine said as Swain and Dutchy continued on their way. Maxine saw Mike standing on the deck, and couldn't help but think that he looked almost broken. "Come on Mike, let's go home. Should be smooth sailing on the way back in."

Mike nodded in acknowledgment as he followed Maxine back inside. Somehow he knew the storm wasn't over.

To Be Continued


	7. Chapter 7

_Authors Notes: SORRY! Tried to get this up earlier but I was plunged into the dark ages of no internet :o! All good now...As always, all feedback welcome..._

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Chapter 7

The Hammersley crew had their newly acquired prisoners secured in Austere and Charge had made sure the drug boat was ready for towing. Meanwhile, Swain and Bird were treating Kate in the wardroom and Mike was left to brief Maxine on what had gone wrong – including that one of the men had recognised Kate, but not how. As they walked back to the Bridge they stopped outside the wardroom to get an update on Kate.

As they stopped at the doorway, Swain noticed his superior officers and walked over to update them.

"Petty Officer," Maxine said to Swain, "How is Lieutenant Commander McGregor?". As Maxine spoke Mike's eyes stayed fixed on Kate.

"Improving Ma'am. She is regaining consciousness, and her head injury seems to be limited to the gash which will need stiches when we get back. She will require a CT scan though, just to make sure. Truth is I'm more concerned with the injuries to her ribs and lungs. It looks like one of her lungs has a small puncture, and there are definitely some broken ribs." Swain informed the officers.

"Right. Do you require and medical assistance? A Medivac perhaps?" Maxine asked as she looked at Kate and could see a number of bruises had developed even since she had been bought on board.

"No Ma'am. I think a medivac would only cause more distress at this point. I'll keep her in here under observation, and so long as she rests she should be fine until we can get her to a hospital." Swain said following both Maxine and Mike's eyesight back to Kate who seemed to be resting somewhat comfortably.

"Very well. We will have an ambulance meet us when we dock. We will be on the Bridge, keep us informed if her condition deteriorates," Maxine said as she went to walk away before Kate spoke.

"I'm in the room you know, you don't need to talk about me like I'm not here." Kate said trying to open her eyes, closing them tightly as the increased sensitivity to light became apparent. Maxine looked at Swain motioning in a way to ask Swain if it was ok to enter the room. Swain simply nodded and moved aside allowing Maxine to walk over to Kate.

Mike could only stand in the doorway and again watch as someone else attended to Kate, while he was left watching on. He wanted to be next to her, hold her hand and tell her everything would be ok. But he knew he couldn't – there were three of her crew in the room, and her CO. Not trusting himself not to lose it, he stayed at the doorway.

"How are you feeling Kate?" Maxine asked, placing a hand on Kate's arm to let her know she was there.

"I'm fine Ma'am." Was Kate's short response, still barely able to speak or move.

"OK then. Your medic tells me you need some rest, so stay here, we'll be on the Bridge. Only a couple of hours and we will be home." Maxine said as Kate nodded, not willing to say anymore. Maxine looked up and saw Dutchy in the corner being attended to by Bird. "Petty Officer Mulholland, how are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine Ma'am, just some rope burns." Dutchy answered, feeling slightly guilty that it was only Kate that ended up with any serious injuries.

"Very well." Maxine said as she made a move to walk back out of the room, "Make sure you see to those burns as well. They can get infected if they're not treated properly." She said to Swain on the way out.

The morale of the crew on the bridge was somewhat deflated. Having their CO badly beaten on their first day back on patrol after leave wasn't meant to happen. Mike was quiet, only speaking when it was absolutely necessary, and truth be told, Maxine was regretting making a rushed decision to replace the AFP agents with Navy. They had been steaming for home for about an hour when Swain came up to the bridge.

"Ma'am, would it be possible to have a word?" Swain asked. Mike almost pulled a muscle in his neck as he turned to see Swain, worried that something had happened to Kate. Before he could say anything Maxine spoke.

"Has something happened to Lieutenant Commander McGregor?" Maxine asked as all the crew now turned to look at Swain.

"Not exactly Ma'am, she's resting in her cabin." Swain said.

"Her cabin? I thought you wanted to monitor her in the ward room?" Maxine asked somewhat confused.

"I did Ma'am. Still do. It's just that, um, well, ah." Swain started to stutter as he didn't know how Maxine would react to what he was going to say.

"Out with it Swain." Mike said growing frustrated.

"She disagrees with my assessment of the situation, her words. Says she's fine. Resting in her cabin was a compromise we came to, she wanted to come to the bridge to, in her words, reclaim her ship." He said, hoping Maxine wouldn't shoot the messenger.

The morale of the bridge instantly improved. Most of them were having a slight chuckle, and even Mike managed a smile. Kate might be beaten and bruised but here spirit was still there. Maxine had a look at the other sailors reactions and realized that this probably wasn't the first time Kate had downplayed her injuries on-board.

"Are you happy for her to stay in her cabin?" Maxine asked hiding her own smile.

"Yes Ma'am, for now. I have left our second medic with her to keep an eye on her. If she's going to actually rest then it's the best place for her. It's just there is one more thing," Swain paused and felt everyone looking at him again. "She is refusing to go to hospital says she doesn't need any scans."

If the crew were trying to hide their chuckles before, they couldn't anymore. Even Mike had to let out a bit of a chuckle – Kate's spirit was definitely intact. Maxine wasn't exactly sure what to do or say. It was obvious from the crew's reaction that this was fairly typical from Kate, but she also knew her injuries required more medical attention than they were able to give her on Hammersley. Looking to Mike for some sort of clue of what to do, she noticed that he had life back in his face.

Mike noticed Maxine look to him and spoke up. "Direct order. It's usually the only thing that will work," Mike said with a smile, remembering the number of times he'd had to pull rank on Kate to get her to do something she should have just done anyway.

"Right. Mike, take the ship." Maxine said with a hint of a smile as she left the bridge.

As Maxine reached Kate's cabin, she knocked softly before opening the door to find the room darkened with Bird sitting next to Kate talking in what looked like a very one sided conversation. "Seaman Bird, will you give us a minute?" She asked as she held the door open for Bird to leave.

"Ma'am." Kate said as she tried to sit up.

"Stay down Kate, try not to move." She said as she placed a hand on Kate's shoulder keeping her flat. "Your medic tells me you don't think you need to go to hospital." As Maxine's eye's adjusted to the light, she saw that Kate had taken down the photo's that were on her wall.

"I don't Ma'am. Waste of time and money. A couple of days of light duties and I'll be fine," Kate said trying to hide the pain while she spoke. Her head was pounding and the pain in her ribs went from agonizing to excruciating with each breath.

"Ok Kate. I'm going to make this simple for you. You are going to hospital. You are going to allow them to do whatever scans they deem necessary. You will be allowed back on Hammersley when, and only when, I have a complete medical clearance in my hand. Understood?" Maxine was as friendly as she could be in the situation.

"Yes Ma'am." Kate agreed reluctantly.

Maxine scanned Kate's desk trying to find the missing photo's. She was about to give up when she saw them in the bin underneath her desk.

"Was there anything else Ma'am?" Kate asked. All she really wanted at the moment was to be left alone.

"Kate, you literally have a whole boat load of people that care about you. People that care about what happens to you. You should never throw that away," Maxine said as she pulled the photo's out of the bin and put them on Kate's desk.

"All due respect Ma'am, a whole boat load? I think you'll find two people in Austere that don't give a damn. And one of them happens to be my step-father." Kate said as she tried to roll over to face her wall while holding back the wave of tears that she was determined to let no-one else see.

Maxine had seen sailors shut down emotionally before, so knew that's what was happening, but had no idea why until Kate said this. She knew Mike had been keeping something from her when she was briefed, and understood now why he did. Maxine didn't quite know what to say, and she also knew that there was probably only one person on board that she might reach out to.

"Just don't shut everyone out," Maxine said as she rubbed Kate's arm to let her know she was leaving.

Kate didn't speak again, afraid of what might come out if she did.

_As Maxine walked out she was overwhelmed with a desire to do something to help Kate handle this emotionally. Normally she would have sent in a divisional officer, or suggested counselling, but she knew there was only one thing that would help – Mike._

_To Be Continued_


	8. Chapter 8

_Authors Notes: Here is the next chapter - I hope you are all anjoying the story._

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Chapter 8

As Maxine left Kate's cabin and walked back to the Bridge, she could hear the crew talking and laughing about some of the other incidents that Kate had gotten herself into, and how she had managed to find a way out of them.

"Ma'am," Swain said as he saw Maxine enter the bridge.

"It's all right Petty Officer, she'll go with the ambulance. You've done a good job patching her up in the mean time." Maxine said as Swain nodded in acknowledgment. "Mike, mind if I grab a quick word?"

"Sure thing. Charge, take the ship." Mike said as both he and Maxine and walked down to the Senior Sailors mess.

"Mike, how much do you know about Kate's life before the Navy?" Maxine asked. She knew that he knew more than he had told her, but wasn't sure if he knew the whole story.

"Not much. She doesn't talk about it, so I don't ask her. I do know that she doesn't have any real contact with her family. Wait, why? What's going on? What did she say?" Mike asked as he became increasingly concerned as to why Maxine was asking him this. He had thought that Kate was doing fine.

"The men in Austere. Do you know one of them is her step-father?" Maxine asked hoping Mike would keep his cool.

Mike clenched his jaw and lowered his head. From what the man had said on the boat he knew that something like this was a possibility, he just didn't want to believe it. The thought of having someone on board that had hurt Kate made his blood boil. Knowing that he had hurt her when she was young was a kick in the guts. "It's not a complete surprise," Mike said, keeping his eye's down. "She's gone into complete shutdown mode hasn't she?" Mike asked as he raised his eyes to look at Maxine.

"I take it you've seen her like this before?" Maxine asked.

"Kate does denial and putting up emotional walls better than anyone I've ever met. She can be the most warm hearted, caring, loyal person. But if someone hurts her...she can just turn it all off." Mike said, realising that he had once caused her to do this himself.

"Have you had a chance to talk to her since this has all happened?" Maxine asked as Mike shook his head. "Well, now's the time. I'll stay up on the bridge, you stay with Kate. Time to be Mike now, not Commander Flynn." Maxine said as she got up to walk away, leaving Mike alone to compose himself before he went to see Kate.

As he reached the door to Kate's cabin, Bird was walking back toward the cabin with a mug in her hand.

"Bird? What's going on?" Mike asked.

"Sir. Um, the Boss wanted a cup of tea, I was just getting it for her." Bird said, hoping she wasn't going to be in trouble for leaving Kate alone.

"How about I take that in, give you a break." Mike said taking the mug from her. Bird nodded and Mike walked in.

Mike opened the door slowly, giving himself a couple of seconds to let his eyes adjust to the dark room. The only light was a lamp on her desk and as he walked in he saw the photo's that used to be on here wall sitting on her desk.

"How's the patient?" Mike asked not really sure how to start the conversation.

"I'd be fine if everyone would just leave me alone." Kate's reply was short and totally lacking any emotion.

"Come on Kate, it's hardly everyone, it's just me." Mike said reaching out to run his thumb down Kate's jaw line, being able to touch her for the first time since the beating happened. He was desperate to hold her, as if holding her would somehow take all the pain away. But there was no way she would let that happen right now.

"I would have thought the Navy had better things for their Commanders to do than sit by the beds of people who are perfectly fine...Sir." Kate told him brushing his hand away. As much as she knew this would hurt Mike, it was hurting her more. The only thing she really wanted was for Mike to climb into the rack next to her and hold her while she cried and let out all of the emotions that she had been holding in since she was a teenager. There were two problems however – one, she had no idea how to tell Mike how she knew the man that beat her, and two, she had no idea how to lean on people. The only way she knew how to deal with this was by herself.

"Kate, you don't have to deal with this on your own," Mike said, his voice and eye's full of love and concern. "I'm here for you."

"All due respect Sir, you don't even know what _this_ is." Kate said, the coldness in her voice almost like a knife through Mike's heart.

"I know more than you think Kate." Mike responded, not sure whether or not he should tell Kate that he knew exactly who the man was that did this to her, and that he had done it before. As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Kate turned and looked at him with a combination of fear and anger in her eyes.

"Knocker." Kate spat with disgust. "I knew I shouldn't have told her anything. She probably ran straight to you to tell you." Kate continued getting more and more angry.

"Kate calm down, it wasn't like that. She's worried about you. And it didn't matter, I already knew." Mike said dropping his eyes from her for the first time since walking in. If he was going to tell her he knew, he might as well go with the whole truth.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked. Mike paused for a second and it was a second too long for Kate. "What do you mean!"

"Gordon. He mouthed off a bit when we got to you." Mike told her, completely regretting bringing any of this up.

The look of anger that was in Kate's eyes was gone and replaced completely by fear, while her voice was full of anger. "Who else knows?" Tears formed in her eye's but Kate refused to let them fall.

"Charge, RO and 2Dads were there. I'm pretty sure Dutchy knows, and I'd be surprised if Swain hadn't figured it out." Mike said once again trying to reach out and touch Kate's face.

"Right so basically everyone. Great." Kate said, reaching out to push Mike's hand away "Mike, don't."

"Kate, let me help you. Just tell me what I can do." Mike pleaded.

"There's nothing you can do. Just leave me alone." Kate said told him turning away.

"Kate, I love you, just let me help you." Mike tried one more time to reach out to Kate with dire results.

"Get out and leave me alone!" Kate yelled, causing her ribs excruciating pain in the process. Mike got up to leave, pausing for a second when he reached the door. He could hear the start of Kate crying and wanted to run back to her. To hold her, comfort her, take the pain away from her. "Get out!" Kate yelled again.

Mike knew Kate well enough to know she wouldn't talk to anyone when she was like this, so he did the only thing he could do and left Kate alone.

As Kate heard her door close she burst into tears. The pain of sending Mike away was worse than the pain of all her injuries put together. There was just no way she could face him right now. Not only did he know one of her worst secrets, but so did most of her friends. And worse still, she had no control over what they knew. The rational part of her knew she had nothing to be ashamed of, but the rational part of her was nowhere to be seen right now.

Outside the cabin door, Dutchy was walking by just as Mike walked out. He didn't know what had happened, but one look at Mike was enough to know it wasn't good.

"Sir, I know now's not a good time, but there is something you need to hear." Dutchy said.

"Later Dutchy." Was all Mike could manage. After just going through what he went through, he needed to be on his own. He walked out onto the decks to get some air. Dutchy knew it was a risk, but followed him anyway. He needed to tell Mike what he had seen on the other boat.


	9. Chapter 9

_Authors Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story...Here is the next chapter - I hope you all enjoy._

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Chapter 9

As Dutchy followed Mike up onto the deck, he couldn't help wonder what had just happened between him and Kate. He knew that they were happy together, but relationships between people at sea and people on land were never without their troubles. Still, there were times that Dutchy could recall when they would be in a foreign port or off watch and Kate would tell him a story about Mike and her whole face would light up. There was a time when he thought that, maybe, in another time, him and Kate might have made a good couple, but seeing the way her demeanour would change whenever his name was mentioned he knew no-one else stood a chance.

"Dutchy, just say whatever it is you have to say," Mike said sounding somewhat defeated, staring out at the ocean.

"Sir, I'm not exactly sure how to say this because I'm not exactly sure what it means. It's about the way the Boss was reacting to Gordon while he was beating her," Dutchy started as Mike turned to look at him. "I've never seen her back down from anyone, and she didn't back down today, it's just she didn't fight back either." Dutchy explained.

"What are you saying? She just allowed this to happen? That she froze?" Mike asked, slightly irritated and completely confused.

"No Sir, she didn't freeze," Dutchy responded before continuing. "It was more like, she knew what was going to happen and just braced herself for the hit. When she was hit to the ground she wouldn't stay down, she would stand up and brace herself again. Kind of like she had a point to prove." Dutchy explained.

Mike clenched the railing in an attempt to contain his emotions. He had so many questions for Kate, and couldn't ask a single one. Everyone knew that Kate was a fighter, so why wouldn't she fight back against this man? Especially when she knew what was about to happen to her?

"Is that all Dutchy?" Mike asked.

"Yes Sir." Dutchy said as he turned to walk away before stopping and turning back, "Sir, I'm sorry I couldn't do any more for her out there today."

"I'm sure you did everything you could." Mike said as Dutchy turned to leave, leaving Mike alone on the deck. He and Kate had to work through so much and wait for so long to be together. This was the first major problem they had encountered as a couple and he had no idea what to say or do to help her. He knows relationships are about how you handle the bad times as much as they are about the good times, and there was no way he was going to abandon her, but if he crowded her there was every chance she would shut down even more and run away.

Standing on the deck, Mike made a decision. He would take his cues from her and allow her whatever space she needed to be able to deal with what was going on by herself. As much as it was killing him to be away from her, it was more important for Kate to process what had happened than for him to fill some selfish desire to be her white knight. So he decided to stay away until she contacted him, starting from now.

Walking back inside Mike found Swain. "Swain, when we arrive back at base are you able to escort Lieutenant Commander McGregor to Hospital?" Mike asked.

"Um, I can Sir, I just thought that maybe you would be going?" Swain asked in response.

"I'll try and make it to the hospital later however, I have a few things to finish first." Mike said hoping Swain wouldn't question him any further.

"Shouldn't be a problem Sir, I'll stay with her as long as I can." Swain said as Maxine's voice came through the speakers ordering the crew to prepare for docking.

After Hammersley had docked, Mike had to watch from the Bridge as Swain took Kate to the waiting Ambulance. The sun was setting, but Kate's eye's still had problems adjusting to the light. She was surrounded by most of the crew calling out their good wishes for a speedy recovery, but she was searching the crowd for Mike.

"Is Mike coming?" Kate asked Swain as she got into the ambulance, her voice barely above a whisper.

"He had some things to finish up, said he'd be at the hospital later." Swain informed Kate as he updated the paramedics on her medical situation.

Kate knew she had treated Mike badly when he came to see her and she didn't blame him for not wanting to be around her. She was desperate to see him, to have him close to her, to comfort her. Only she had no idea how to ask him for help after speaking to him so horribly – all he had tried to do was support her and she sent him away. Lying in the back of the ambulance she realised that she would just have to wait for Mike to come back to her – if he came back to her.

Back at Navcom, Mike was in his office trying to find things to do to keep him busy. He didn't want to be there, but couldn't face going home alone. He was about to pick up another report when Maxine walked in.

"Mind if I ask what you are doing here?" Maxine asked.

"It's my understanding that I work here." Mike responded not looking up from his files.

"Mike I don't know what happened between you and Kate, but you being here while she is in Hospital is a mistake." Maxine told him taking the files from Mike's hands.

"You're right Maxine, you don't know the situation. If I push things too hard, there is every chance she will push me away completely. I'm doing the only thing I can do which is to give her time and space." Mike said, a little irritated that Maxine thought she knew what was best.

"Mike, I'm going to let you in on a secret but if you tell anyone I told you this I'll deny it," Maxine said as Mike nodded, "when a girl's going through a rough time, what she really needs is a hug and to be told everything is going to be ok. Even if you both know it's a total lie, she just needs to hear it." Maxine said.

"Maxine you don't know Kate. That sort of line won't work on her." Mike said trying to figure out if he should go back on his decision to wait for Kate to contact him.

"It will. You know how I know?" Maxine asked as Mike shook his head, "It's what you said to me when Jeff died. I didn't believe it when you said it, but it was what I needed to hear at the time." Maxine said as she left Mike's office to go back to her own, hoping that Mike would take the hint and leave for the hospital.

To be continued


	10. Chapter 10

_Authors Notes: Thank you so much to everyone for reading this story. Below is the next...and last...chapter in the story. I hope you enjoy the ending and it isn't too cheesy :)_

_Massive thankyou to everyone who has left feedback, it's really great hearing what you think_

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Chapter 10

After considerable thought, Mike decided to follow Maxine's advice and go to the hospital stopping first at home to change and pick up some of Kate's things, then at the shops. He knew there was every chance Kate would send him away, but he also realised that Kate was too stubborn to ever ask him for help, so he had to be there as much as he could. Plus, if he had chocolate there was a possibility she wouldn't yell at him. As he walked through the hospital doors he spotted Swain was walking towards him.

"Swain, how is she?" Mike asked.

"She's recovering well. They have stitched up the gash in her head, and they say that her ribs and lungs will heal themselves. She will be in a fair bit of pain for a week or so, but all things considered she was pretty lucky. She's resting now, last room on the left down the end there." Swain informed Mike pointing to the corridor Kate's room was in.

"Thanks Swain, for everything." Mike said offering a hand to Swain.

"Anytime Sir," Swain said shaking Mike's hand. As he walked past Mike to leave, he stopped and turned, "You know, she's not as tough as everyone thinks. She'll be glad you're here." He said as Mike nodded.

"You should get home, enjoy your unexpected shore leave." Mike told Swain as he watched the other man leave the hospital. If only Mike shared Swain's confidence that Kate would be glad to see him.

As Mike entered Kate's room, his whole body tensed. He thought the bruises were bad before, they were much worse now. Lying in bed asleep she looked so vulnerable. He wanted to make everything ok, but had no idea what to do.

He walked over to Kate, putting her things and the chocolates on the table next to her bed before taking a seat in the chair by her bedside. He didn't want to wake her up, but he couldn't help it, he needed to touch her, as if by touching her he would get some sort of re-assurance that she would be ok. So reaching out he enclosed her hand in his, stroking it as he closed his eyes, relishing the simple act of being able to touch her.

* * *

Kate had figured out one thing about hospitals; if you pretend to be asleep, most people will leave you alone. She was lying in her bed with her eyes closed when she heard someone enter her room. When they didn't come straight for her or her charts, she assumed it was Swain coming back in. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate everything he had done for her, she just couldn't face anyone else today, so she continued pretending to sleep.

She heard him put something on the table and move to a chair next to the bed. It wasn't until she felt him take her had in his that she realised who it was. Mike. She would know that touch anywhere. She still didn't know what to say to him, so she stayed in her current state. Before she had a chance to think any further, he started talking.

"Kate, I don't know if you will hear this because I don't know if you are pretending to be asleep, or actually sleeping. I just want you to know I love you, and I'm here for you. You can push me away as many times as you like, but I am still going to be here," Mike said softly, as if speaking quietly would make sure that Kate was the only person in the world to hear him. "I'm going to leave you now to rest but I am going to be back first thing tomorrow, whether you need me or not."

As Mike finished speaking he lifted Kate's hands to his lips, resting for a couple of seconds before placing a light kiss on her fingers. As he stood from the chair, he lowered her hand back to the bed and was about to let go when he felt her fingers tighten around his. He looked to his hand, needing to see what he was feeling to believe it, before raising his eyes to Kate's face, his heart almost breaking at what he saw.

Kate was looking at Mike, tears streaming down her face, the look in her eyes pleading with him not to leave. She wanted to tell him that she loved him too, that she needed him, that if it helped she would beg him to stay, that she was sorry for what happened earlier, but she could only get one word out. "Stay?" It came out almost as a whisper while the tears continued to fall.

"Oh Kate," Mike said as he picked her hand and sat on the side of the bed. He took one hand away from hers and reached out using his thumb to wipe the tears away before leaning down to place a soft kiss on her forehead, "There is nowhere else I'd rather be tonight," He told her, before kissing her forehead again, closing his eyes trying to hold his own emotions in check. He took a deep breath and lowered his head further, placing his forehead on hers, their noses touching, "Kate, I promise...everything is going to be ok."

"That's complete crap, but I'm so full of drugs right now I almost believe you," Kate said, making both of then chuckle a little. Kate then winced and grabbed her ribs, causing Mike to jump back thinking he had hurt her. "It's ok, apparently it just hurts to laugh." She said reaching out to touch Mike, instantly missing his touch when he moved back.

Mike once again held Kate's hand as he took his seat next to the bed. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Mike wiping away the last of Kate's tears, Kate enjoying the feeling of Mike's hand on her face.

After a few minutes, Kate finally spoke. "Mike, how much do you know?" She asked looking at him, tears threatening to fall again as she lowered her eyes.

Mike thought about the question for a few moments before he responded. He knew he had to handle this carefully, "I don't have to know anything if you don't want me to,"

Kate wasn't sure what she was expecting to hear, but it wasn't this. As she raised her eyes to look at Mike, she saw his face full of concern and love for her. She had never wanted to tell anyone about her past, but right at that moment she felt like she could have told him anything. Every emotional wall that she had ever built just came tumbling down.

"You know he did this to me before?" Kate asked as Mike nodded, "And you know who he is?" She questioned as Mike nodded, his hand reaching up to her face again.

"Kate, I'm here for you, but that doesn't mean you have to tell me anything you don't want to, or aren't ready to," Mike said, worried that Kate had been through enough for the day.

Kate was exhausted and truth be told she didn't really feel like talking, but she knew that if she didn't get it all out now, she might never talk about it again. "He moved in with me and mum when I was about fourteen. The story isn't all that unique, drugs, alcohol, abuse. He used to tell me that I was no better than them, that I was going to turn out just like them..." Kate's voice was getting softer and softer as she spoke, to the point where Mike could barely hear her.

"Kate, you are nothing like them..." Mike started before Kate found her voice again, interrupting him.

"You haven't heard the worst part yet," she said. Mike didn't know if he would be up to hearing this, what he had heard was bad enough and he was about to hear worse. "I know this won't make any sense to you, it barely makes any sense to me, but I came up with my own way of coping. The one thing I wanted to make sure of was that I never turned out like them, so apart from working hard at school I used to just let him hit me. It was like if I fought back, if I hit him, even in defence, I would become like him." She explained looking to Mike.

Mike remembered what Dutchy had told him, and he started to understand what had happened on the boat. Seeing her step-father again, Kate must have felt like she was a teenager all over again and her old coping mechanisms just kicked in.

Kate continued her explanation "It also felt like he'd win if I wasn't strong enough to deal with it on my own, or showed him the pain he was causing." Kate then looked Mike in the eye, "Which is why I snapped at you earlier, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise for anything. All I care about is that you're ok." So much of Mike and Kate's relationship was complicated, but right there, in that moment, Kate knew he meant what he said. On that night, in that hospital room, the only thing Mike cared about was Kate.

"I'm ok," Kate said trying to smile, "or at least I will be." Kate said as they both smiled. "It sure has been one stormy day." Kate said trying to change the conversation and lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I'll agree with that. You know if you had told me this morning that this was how today would have turned out, there is no way in the world I would have believed you." Mike said with a bit of a laugh, taking Kate's lead and changing the conversation while his thumb rubbed Kate's forehead. He could see Kate was beginning to get tired, and hoped for her sake she would get a reasonable night's sleep.

"If memory serves me correct, you weren't exactly in the mood for talking this morning," Kate said with a smile.

"Can you blame me? I thought I wasn't going to see you for a couple of weeks." Mike said before leaning in even closer to Kate's face "Besides, I wasn't the only one not in the mood for talking," he said before placing a soft kiss on Kate's lips. "I'll stay here, you should get some rest." Mike whispered.

"Mmm. Need to use the bathroom first." Kate said as Mike sat up and Kate started pulling her sheet and blanket back.

"Do you want your pyjama's?" Mike asked, not taking his eyes off Kate, making sure she wasn't hurting herself getting up.

"Sounds good." Kate said trying to get up and hide the pain that she was obviously in.

"Here, let me help you, or should I call the nurse?" Mike asked getting worried as Kate's pain levels obviously were getting worse.

"No..I'm ok...I can manage," Kate said as she continued to move.

"Kate, just let me hel...Ok..." As much as Mike wanted to help Kate, he knew he had to let her work through this by herself. She had taken a huge step tonight in telling him about her past, and forcing her to accept help would not have eased the situation. He continued to watch as she made her way into the bathroom.

Mike waited in the room, having to resist the temptation to continually call out asking if she was ok. Kate was taking longer than she normally would, but she normally wasn't injured.

Eventually Kate opened the door as Mike heard a bang, followed by Kate, "Argh!" She called out instantly.

Still not sure what to do, Mike casually asked, "Everything ok?" Again, resisting the temptation to run over to her.

"No! I stubbed my bloody toe." Kate called out in pain.

Mike couldn't help it, he cracked up laughing. Stiches in her head, concussion, broken ribs, punctured lung, bruises all over, and the thing causing her pain was her stubbed toe. Kate was not pleased with his reaction.

"Are you going to stand there laughing all night or help me back to the bed?" she asked quite agitated. Mike still couldn't stop laughing, but was quick to be by her side and help her move back to bed.

"So let me get this straight, just for future reference," Mike started, "When you are beaten up I should be here to support you while you deal with everything on your own, but when you stub your toe, I should come running?" Mike asked still chuckling.

"Yes, is it really that hard to understand the difference?" Kate said extremely frustrated at how much pain she was in, and a little annoyed at Mike for laughing. She could see the humour in the situation as well, but there was no way she was going to show it.

"Well sort of. Just so you know, I may get it wrong from time to time." Mike said as he gently lifted Kate's feet up onto the bed.

"Well then, you're lucky that I'm a patient and forgiving person." Kate said leaning back into the pillows on her bed, grateful to be changed into her own clothes and be done moving for the night.

"That's exactly how I describe you to people. Patient and forgiving." Mike said resuming his chuckle. He didn't know anyone in the world who would describe Kate as patient and forgiving.

"You really want to go there now?" Kate asked looking up to Mike.

"No." Mike said smiling. As Kate looked at him he could see the tiredness taking over her, her eyes closing for longer and longer with each blink. "Get some sleep Kate," Mike said leaning down to give Kate a soft kiss goodnight.

"Will you stay?" Kate asked, her eye's now closed, and voice almost a whisper.

With that line, Mike fell in love with Kate just that little bit more. "I'm never leaving, not matter how many storms we face." Mike said as Kate drifted off to sleep. It wasn't long before the events of the day took its toll on Mike. Resting his head beside Kate's, Mike drifted off to sleep, content in the knowledge that there wasn't a problem in the world he and Kate couldn't overcome together.


End file.
